Pokemon: Shining Nightmare

[Gummy]

This fic is rated PG-13 for: Language (mild), Violence, Blood, and Teen Romance.

Pokemon: Shining Nightmare


Prologue: The Plan To End All Plans


Far south of Kanto and Johto, a new region arrived in the Pokemon world. More of a collection of islands than a region, Tetrago stood alone in the desolate sea. A small island, plainly named Zero, is stationed in the middle of four larger islands. With the masterful bridges recently built to connect the Main Islands to Isle 0, a league was created to promote the idea of Pokemon training. Tetrago was the perfect region for this, as each island housed different environments. After the shipment of necessary items, trainers of all shapes and sizes came to explore the region. Nightmare CO, the company mainly responsible for the building of the bridges, gained instant publicity. Of course, this was simply part of their plan...


***** Three Years Ago *****


The sun has yet to reprieve Isle 0 of its shadowy curtain. The landscape is nearly unrecognizable to normal trainers, with its vast amount of trees and mountains overpowering the land. Just one, small city flourishes in this quiet island. The only source of light from this time of day, the city can be seen from the equally as desolate Main Islands. However, unbeknownst to others, the city— named Slate— was at its liveliest.

In the middle of Slate stands an enormous, black building. It towers over all surrounding structures, as an older brother watching over his younger siblings. However, on this night, the building was empty except for four people. Four very important people...

A long, rectangular table stretched across a room, dimly lit by a single lamp. All the windows were blocked with black, lacy curtains. There was no clear entrance into the room, but there were four people seated at the table.

The man seated at the end of the table closest to the windows wore a white overcoat with black pants. Half his face was hidden behind an oversized pair of glasses, and the other half by his curly, black hair. He sat in his chair in a slouched position, as if examining the table.

The man sitting across from him was pretty much his opposite. He sat in an upright position and his orange suit was clearly visible, even in the barely lit room. He was stroking his short, black hair with one hand while fashioning a vibrant grin. He was famous in the Kanto region for being Giovanni— the eighth Gym Leader, but never Giovanni— the leader of Team Rocket.

On the left side of the table sat a young male, grinning even more than Giovanni. His scarlet, spiky hair made him look like some young superhero. He wore a black, hooded sweatshirt with matching jeans. His childish face seemed to stare into nothingness as he ignored the people around him. It was blindingly obvious he was still in his teen years.

And finally, the male sitting across from him wore a blank expression on his face. He wore a white suit with matching pants, along with a pair of white gloves. His gloved-fingers fondled together as if he were in deep thought. His long, straight, black hair stretched down to the small of his back. All eyes were on him.

"I see that you're fond of the plan, Giovanni. And so are you, Erebus. But what about you, Ethan? I can never decipher your expression," said the man dressed in white. He then stood up from his chair and fished inside his pockets with both hands.

"It sounds nice," Ethan simply replied as he motioned to adjust his glasses. He didn't even attempt to glance at the man he was speaking to.

"Forget Ethan, I think the plan is awesome!" the youngest one spoke this time. Giovanni couldn't help but roll his eyes and mutter, "Kids..."

Erebus glared at Giovanni, but before he could retort, the man in white spoke again. "I have no need for your opinion, Erebus. As a member of my company, you will do what you're told, no matter how high your rank is." Erebus calmed down immediately. "Now I will show you one of the results of this plan."

As the man said this, he pulled a black and white ball from his pocket. With the press of a button, the ball grew three times bigger. He grinned at the orb for a few seconds before pointing it at the middle of the table and pressing the button once more. Instantaneously, a red beam shot out from the now opened ball. In no time, the light began to take the shape of a fish before fading away.

At almost three feet in length, the common Magikarp flopped helplessly on the table. However, there was nothing common about this Magikarp. Unlike the norm, this Magikarp was covered in golden scales that magnified the room's light so it reached every corner.

"Behold," began the man with his hands raised to the ceiling, "the Shiny Magikarp!"

"So, the 'machine' works now?" Giovanni's grin immediately returned.

"Shiny?" Erebus asked with a chuckle. "Since when did you start using my uncles' lingo?"

"Actually Erebus, the League of Kanto, Johto and Tetrago recently approved the word 'shiny' to apply to any Pokemon whom is born with an abnormal appearance. It has made Dragon-Master Lance even more popular," Ethan said in a hushed tone, again not looking up. Erebus replied with a childish gagging noise.

"Calling himself Dragon-Master Lance, now? God knows my team of dark Pokemon would grind his ass in a battle any day!" Erebus shouted to no one in particular. At that very moment, a black dog jumped onto his lap from under the table. Its ears were pointed like a fox's and yellow rings covered some parts of its body. Erebus raised a hand and began to stroke his Umbreon's fur.

"Grind his ass?" Giovanni's facial expression looked a little taken back. "I swear, you kids make up the weirdest phrases these days." For the first time, the man in white laughed.

"So Seth DOES have a sense of humor!" Erebus said, regaining his cool.

"That's Boss to you, Erebus." With that, Seth returned the Magikarp to its Pokeball imprisonment.

"Now on to the rest of the plan." Seth cleared his throat before continuing, "Ethan and Erebus, I recently gained valuable information that both Team Magma and Aqua are extremely close to completely their goals of capturing legendary Pokemon. It is your job to find out where they're headed, get there first and capture those Pokemon. That'll teach them to deny my request for an alliance. Luckily, Giovanni, you accepted. Your task is to capture not only the legendary birds of Kanto, but also the legendary dogs of Johto. That shouldn't be too hard with an army of Rockets behind you."

"And what about Sinnoh?" Ethan asked, taking all this information much easier and faster than the others.

"I will personally take care of Sinnoh. Team Galactic has yet to recover from its collapse."

"And I'm guessing you plan to use the 'machine' to alter these Pokemon's appearances and make them Shiny as well? So what, big deal! It's been proven that Shiny Pokemon only have physical differences. They have just as much power as a regular Pokemon," Erebus finally said.

"Oh no, these Pokemon are much more different!" Seth couldn't help but fashion his own grin. "My machine also alters their DNA to always have them at their best fighting potential. Allow me to demonstrate." He pulled out the same ball once more and released the Magikarp again.

"A tackle would be much appreciated." It sounded more like a request than an order. Nonetheless, the Magikarp made one last flop before throwing itself into a distant wall. It smacked into the brick with a loud thud and fell to the floor. However, what was left of the wall was simply amazing. The neighboring room was now visible through the large hole in the wall. Once again, Seth returned the Magikarp to the ball, but this time with a malicious smirk on his face. "We will have an army of supped-up legendaries. Then, we move onto the final phase of our plan."

"Which is?" Giovanni and Erebus asked in unison.

"Humph, no need to spoil. You'll find out when we get there."


**********


Well, it's up! For those of you who've read my last fic, can you tell me if I'm improving or not. And don't forget to review! (Or at least rate...)

 

[FireTrainer92]

Pretty good. It has a good base.

 

[~Swish~]

Yeah great base for the story, and thats one bad ass Magikarp :laugh:

I'm looking forward a lot to reading about the legendaries and what happens to them, and which ones are in the story.

 

[Gummy]

Thanks for the comments, and thank you Pichu for changing title. I'll probably have a new update tommorow.

 

[Mewtwo42]

I read it, and thought it was great. The whole idea of a story about pokemon gangsters grasps me. It seems like a promising fic. Keep going!

 

[Gummy]

Well, here's the first chapter. A little long since I had to fit a lot in it.

Chapter One: From Fantasy, To Dream, To Reality


Everon Town looks pretty much like any other mountain town: Many hilltops, twisted roads, and a few houses destroyed by recent rockslides. The only oddity is the large sign at the entrance to the town. What does it say? Nothing much, just: ALL TRAINERS ENTER AT OWN RISK!!!

If you haven't gotten it yet, Everon Town has something against Pokemon-kind. It all started ten years ago when a mysterious Absol entered the town. Many passengers greeted the black and white wolf with affection, but it just continued through the town, muttering something under its breath. The day after this mysterious visit, Everon was plagued with a series of unlikely disasters. The citizens were quick to blame the Absol. In days, they had Pokemon's head brought back to the town as a trophy.

Unknown to the people of Everon, though, Absols have an uncanny ability to predict danger. Its walk through town was more of a warning than a threat. After the League of Tetrago was created, it urged Everon to relinquish its horrible views toward Pokemon. This, however, only resulted in the hating of both Pokemon and Pokemon Trainers. Surprisingly, this is where our story begins...


**********


On the steepest hill of Everon Town, the Rowley family calls this high elevation "home". Living in a relatively small house, this family of three lives pretty isolated from the rest of the town. Actually, the only thing they have in common with the other townspeople is their dislike for Pokemon. Well, at least Mr. and Mrs. Rowley shared this dislike.

"Wake up! Pika Pikachu! Charmander Char!" The sounds echoed through the small room. It was a relatively plain room, with a desk in one corner and a small bed in another. Many books were stacked on the desk and papers were hanging out of an open drawer. Written on one of these papers was a single word: Pokemon.

"Wake up! Cynda Cyndaquil! Blastoise Toise!" These sounds were coming from an alarm clock to the left of the stack of books. Then, out of nowhere, a rolled up sock smacked into the clock, causing into to fall off the desk. As soon as it hit the floor, the noise ceased.

"Damn! I hope I didn't break it." said a voice in mid-yawn from the bed. As the covers were pulled down, a teenage face was revealed; no older than fifteen. He fashioned dark blue hair that covered most of his forehead. His azure eyes starred up at the ceiling for some time until he finally got out of bed. He stood at about 5"8 tall as he walked over to the alarm clock. Upon picking up the clock, an important-looking computer chip fell off from the back. Seconds later, he noticed the clock's hands had stopped moving.

"Just great! This was the only Pokemon alarm clock left in town! But I bet dad'll be happy it's gone..." he said, muttering the last part to himself.

Taking one last look at the clock, he noticed that it stopped precisely at 12:00.

"Damn, why is Mom always messing with my stuff? I'm four hours late!" he thought to himself as he raced to the closet next to his bed. It didn't take long for him to get dressed, as he just wore his normal attire. His lavender shirt was barely seen through his favorite maroon jacket. He quickly tightened up his loose jeans with a belt his mom bought him the previous week. After rolling up his sleeves (revealing the colorful underside of his jacket), he slipped on some gloves with three of the finger slots cut. Even though it was fairly hot outside, he threw on a scarlet scarf that seemed to flow behind him, although there was no wind. He nearly walked out of his room without putting on his new pair of sneakers. Lucius Rowley can surely be considered as the oddball of Everon.

He rushed downstairs and out the door, not even checking if his parents were still home. He took advantage on living on the highest hill of Everon and overlooked the town for a few seconds. Even at this time of day, the town was pretty quiet. There were few cars on the twisted roads, and he could see that the park was virtually empty. Not that anyone would play in that Rattata-invested place. However, it was important to Lucius, as this was the only place in the town where Pokemon thrived. He smiled as he watched the Rattata play on the slides before running down the road. Their small, purple and white bodies maneuvering around these man-made objects. Just how it should be...

"I doubt Kyle's still waiting at the fountain; I better go to his house." Lucius thought to himself, turning on the corner of a familiar street. As he neared the third house on the block, he saw that a young man was exiting the house. He wore a black jacket with flames on it and matching jeans. He also wore what looked like a red pilot's helmet, even more so because of the goggles strapped onto it. His brown hair was the same color as Lucius' jacket and his eyes were a lighter shade if blue than Lucius'.

"Hey Kyle! Sorry about earlier, I overslept." Lucius exclaimed as he slowed to a stop.

"Don't bother with the excuses," Kyle said in a low tone. "I waited a whole two hours for you, and you were the one who told me to be there at eight!" With that, he walked right past Lucius and down the block.

"C'mon man, don't be like that!" Lucius cried, trying to catch up with his friend. "Look, I'm here now. Let's talk."

"Hmm... fine, talk,"

"Okay," Lucius took a deep breath before beginning. "You know the town festival is tonight, right? Well, supposedly everyone is going. Everyone except us, that is. This is our chance to go to the town gate and check out the Pokemon!"

"Dude, you know that place is off-limits!"

"Well, duh! That's why we're going while everyone's at the festival."

"I don't know, it sounds a little dangerous. Even for you, Lucius..." Kyle stopped infront of a store labeled: EVER-MART. "This is my stop. But hey, if you come up with a safer plan, call me up." Without even a simple good-bye, Kyle rushed into the store.

"No way, is Kyle softening up on me? Nah, he must've been joking! I'll go drop by his house later!" Lucius reassured himself before walking off into the distance.

A few people were gathered around the town square, probably getting ready for the festival that night. Lucius, however, didn't even spare them a passing glance. He knew that the festival celebrated the town's cleansing of Pokemon.

"Maybe those bastards should go check out the park." the young rebel thought to himself before walking back up the hill to his home.

"I'm home!" he shouted as he closed the door behind him. His father, Mr. Rowley was seated a few feet away from the door, reading a newspaper. He wore all black, even on a hot day like this. His eyes were exact duplicates of Lucius', but it didn't contain the same "glow".

"Shouldn't you be at the festival?" Mr. Rowley said in a deep voice, not even lowering his paper.

"Very funny dad, you know I never go to that thing." Lucius voice sounded a little irritated.

Mr. Rowley let out a deep sigh before his reply. "What do you plan to do with your life?"

Lucius was taken back by the sudden question and took a seat opposite his father. "What do you mean?"

"What are your dreams? It's a fairly simple question, son."

"My dream? My dream is to leave this boring town and do some real exploring, have real fun, and have real Pokemon!" Lucius realized what he said a little too late.

Mr. Rowley lowered his read and looked his son in the eye. "Pokemon? Those atrocious little creatures? I didn't raise you to believe in fantasies! Now, give me a real answer."

"That was a real answer," Lucius said coldly as he stood up. "Do you know I'm five years older than the average trainer!?" He obviously didn't care about his tone anymore.

"Do you know that the average trainer doesn't live until age twenty because of some freak accident!? You kids don't understand how dangerous these things actually are!" Mr. Rowley's voice was also rising.

Lucius was surprised by his father's knowledge and gave no come-back.

"That's what I thought," Mr. Rowley said, focusing once again on his newspaper. "I expect to see you at the festival. Don't show and that laptop of yours is mine."

With nothing else to say, Lucius marched up to his room. Believe it or not, though, this was no easy feat. With every step he took, he felt a part of his dream... his fantasy was breaking apart. Why didn't his parents understand him? Why didn't anyone understand him?


***** Later that night *****


Lucius lay on his bed, fully dressed, and stared at his ceiling. His face expression told that he was in deep thought. Suddenly, he reached in his pocket and grabbed out his cell phone. He quickly searched his phonebook for Kyle's number.

"Hey Kyle, you said call if I have a new plan. Well, I have a new plan!" Lucius said enthusiastically into the phone.

"Well... tell me, already!" Kyle said quite impatiently on the phone.

"Okay, okay, calm down. I was thinking; we're both interested in Pokemon, right? Well, what's stopping us from learning more about them!? I'm tired of playing a trainer on my laptop; I want to be a real one! So, what do you say?" Lucius pressed his phone against his ear, anxious to here his friend's delight.

"Say about what?" Kyle sounded as if he needed to hear it twice instead of asking as if he didn't hear correctly.

Lucius, however, gave in to his excitement. "Let's become real trainers! Catch and train actual Pokemon! Let's do something with our lives!" Lucius still had an anxious expression on.

"Stop joking around, Lucius! At first, these rebellious ideas were fun, but now you've crossed the line. We can't just leave our families! Do you have any idea how worried they'd be!?"

"No, I don't," Lucius replied extremely coldly. "All we need to do is look out for each other! We'll return to Everon one day!"

"No, Lucius, count me out. Besides, this conversation is wasting my time; I'm in a rush." Kyle sounded very sure of his final decision.

"In a rush? In a rush for wha—" Lucius didn't need Kyle's answer to figure this one out. "The festival? You're going to the festival!? You traitor, how could you!?"

"I'm thinking realistically, Lucius. I've come to accept the town that we live—" Kyle's voice was replaced by a dial tone. Lucius kept his thumb on the "End" button long enough for his phone to completely turn off. He put the phone back in his pocket and hopped off his bed.

Cursing under his breath, Lucius rushed over to his desk and picked up his light brown backpack, knocking over a few book in the process. He stuffed his laptop and enough clothes to last three days, including an exact replica of his current outfit.

"I'll buy new clothes when I reach the next town... wherever that is." the teenager thought to himself as he reached for a small box in the back of a drawer. Inside was a stack of money and piece of paper labeled: Money saved up for new laptop. He counted through the stack three times, coming up with an amount above $1500.00 every time. He had mixed feelings of joy and sadness; joy because he had enough money for clothes and supplies; sadness because it would be some time until he got a new laptop. He threw his backpack on and took one last look at the room before finally leaving.

He wasn't sure if he was happy or not that his parents had already left. Although they did annoy him at times, he wanted to see them at least one more time. Reluctantly, he exited his house and locked the door behind him.

From his current position, he could see the bright lights and flashes from the festival. All those people; dancing and celebrating the fact that they were free of Pokemon-kind. Only yards from the party, the swarm of Rattata was still playing in the park. Their adorable, small bodies enjoying life without a care in the world. Two different worlds, so close together; but in reality, never farther apart. It was all up to Lucius to decide which one he belonged to.

"Mom, dad, Kyle... good luck," no matter how hard he thought, he had no more words. With that unofficial good-bye, Lucius walked off for the town gate.


**********


The infamous sign that made Everon feared by trainers around the region, and quite possibly, the world, was now in Lucius' field of view. As he read the words over and over, he realized how badly he needed to complete this quest. How badly he needed show his town that Pokemon were just as significant beings as humans.

The next sign to show up was the one he was anticipating all evening: You are now leaving Everon Town. Behind this was a hill steeper than the one Lucius' house sat on. As Lucius approached the sign, he saw a limp figure on the ground beside it.

"Is that... is that what I think it is!?" Lucius whispered to himself as he broke into a run. He knelt beside the creature and was at a loss for words when he examined it in full. Its body was shaped like a wolf's, especially the way it was curled up in a ball. Its fur was completely white, except for its pointed tail and curved blade-like appendage sticking from its head. At his feet, an Absol laid, looking badly injured. It didn't take long for him to find the patch of fur dyed a crimson red. He reached his arm out for it when his ears were filled with an excruciatingly loud bang and a metal object zoomed past him face. It seemed like slow motion when he realized the object was a bullet.

"So you're this Absol's trainer? I gave the stupid thing a warning shot and it jumped up and fell on a pretty sharp rock." The old, raspy voice came from a few feet away. He wore a brown ranger uniform and a large, sickly green hat. Clasped in his sweaty hands was a large hunting rifle.

"What the hell is your problem?! You could have killed me, you idiot!" All of Lucius mixed emotions had finally reached their boiling point.

"Well, I was aiming for that beast next to you. I wouldn't intentionally kill a human, but if you protect that monster, my hand just might slip..." Lucius saw the smirk travel across the ranger's face. Without a second thought, he leaped with all his might for the injured Pokemon.

BANG!!!

Lucius' body was wrapped around the Absol by the time the gun went off, and he felt like they were flying. He nearly snapped his neck as he turned back just in time to see the bullet miss him by inches. However, his feeling of flying was over before he knew it. In fact, it became quite the opposite. The two bodies plummeted until they hit the steep hill and began rolling uncontrollably. Every time he got a chance to look at his left arm, a new cut had appeared. No matter how hard he tried, the pain was too much for him to continue holding the Absol. Reluctantly, he released the Pokemon. Upon doing so, the Absol managed to open its eyes just in time to meet Lucius'. Time seemed to stop as the two looked into each other's eyes, as if staring into each others past, present and future.

Then, to Lucius' surprise, the Absol reached out its palms and grabbed onto his shirt. Now the Pokemon was protecting the human. In this position, no matter how much the two rolled, their eyes were always locked. The longer he looked into the nearly black eyes, the less he felt the immense pain. Before he knew it, the hill had gone rather flat and the two halted to a stop. Lucius' body lay on the ground and the Absol struggled to stand over him.

Lucius' eyesight began to blur until finally, everything went black. Complete darkness and absolutely no sound. Well, almost no sound. Before going completely unconscious, Lucius could've sworn he heard the Absol whisper, "<Thank you, human...>"

 

[~Swish~]

Very nice story, thoroughly enjoying it now. It was a hard situation for him, but fair play to him for following his dream. Not a bad start either meeting one of the better Pokemon right at the start! Keep it up!

 

[Gummy]

Well, school's back so updates are gonna be slower. However, I'll probably have an update sometime this week.

 

[Mewtwo42]

Wow. Chpt. 2 was great! A few mis-spellings and missing words, but the plot is growing.

Can't wait for the next chapter.^^

 

[FireTrainer92]

Pretty good. I guess you're my main competition.

 

[~Swish~]

Pretty good. I guess you're my main competition.

Competition? =S

This isn't about competition, people can enjoy as many Fan Fics as they want. Its not like they have to choose.

 

[FireTrainer92]

No it's not like that. It's more like who can write the better story.

 

[Gummy]

I would really appreciate it if you guys could tell me where I made errors. I'm extremely horrible at catching spelling errors, especially in big chapters.

 

[~Swish~]

No it's not like that. It's more like who can write the better story.

Well thats the same thing as competition virtually, and again its not about who can write the better story unless you make it that way. I'm sure most people couldn't care less, they just want to make their story their own way and be happy.

Anyway we going off topic :) Just thought I'd say.

@ Glajummy: I would do it myself but I am not the best at grammar and things like that. Try the Writing Lounge and ask for someone to proof read your work, we have some excellent writers here which will gladly help (I hope!). :)

 

[Grovyle42(Griff8416)]

It was really good. I wrote a better review at the SPPF. I'll be reading.

 

[Gummy]

Don't be intimidated by the length of this chapter! Most of it is simply dialogue, with a very short action scene. I'll be sure you make it up in the next update.


Chapter Two: Lucius and Lilith


"-ey... –oung ma-... wake up, young man." The voice was faint, but Lucius was sure someone was talking to him. He felt the warm touch of a human hand brush against his naked shoulder. It was an enormous effort for him to simply open his eyes. A woman with scarlet hair and a vibrant smile was leaning over him. He seemed to lose track of time as he stared into her cerulean eyes, and he couldn't help but notice her nurse wardrobe.

It was then that he was reminded of the events that just took place. He quickly sat upright, nearly knocking the nurse off her feet. He began observing his surroundings, but it seemed he was in a particularly normal room. The walls were painted white and a red carpet covered the floor. There was only a single window, but Lucius could see that the sun had risen some time ago. There was another bed in the room, but Lucius could hardly make out what was lying in it. Looking down, he saw that both his jacket and shirt were removed, and many discolored patches of skin were visible. While turning his head to view the rest of the plain room, a sharp pain shot down his spine, and he immediately fell back on to the bed.

"Don't make any sudden movements!" cried the nurse as she rushed to Lucius' cringing body.

"Wh—where am I?" Lucius moaned in pain.

"Huh? Oh you're in Andrea Town's Pokémon Center." The words seemed to pierce him like a blade. Pokémon Center... He had seen the word on the internet before. Where these centers existed, Pokémon and Pokémon Trainers were abundant.

"Can—you—hear—me?" the nurse said slowly, her eyes bulging out of their sockets.

"What? Oh, sorry. How— how did I get here?" Lucius asked, still lying on the bed.

"Quite a miracle, actually!" the nurse said with enthusiasm, as if she had been waiting for the moment to tell the story. "I was having one of my regular, boring shifts when suddenly a bleeding Absol comes barging into the center, barking about some half-dead human! I offered to fix it up a bit, but it insisted that I come for you. So I called up some of the villagers and the Absol—"

"Wait, you understood a Pokémon!?" Lucius shouted, risking another attempt at sitting upright. This time, the pain didn't come. A frown quickly traveled across the nurse's face, as it was obvious that Lucius stopped listening at that point.

"Humph! I thought someone would be interested in how their life was saved, but if you're really that clueless; anyone with a strong connection to Pokémon-kind can understand PokéSpeech! Naturally, for us Joys, knowing their language is essential for the job!" Nurse Joy said with a chuckle.

"Joys?" Lucius said; scratching his head and looking a little lost in the conversation.

"Some trainer you are! No wonder your Absol was so hurt, you've obviously never went to a Pokémon Center to heal it!" Joy said in a sort of accusatory tone.

"Absol! Where's the Absol!? Is it here?" Lucius said instantaneously.

"Calm down, young man! Your Absol is right there, and she's fine!" Joy was pointing at the second bed in the room.

Without even thinking, Lucius hopped out his bed to greet his savior. Unfortunately for him, the moment his feet hit the floor, his knees buckled like that of a puppet. It didn't take long for him to fall flat on his face. Pain coursed through his veins and the spot on the carpet where his stomach landed glinted with crimson liquid.

"Oh my! You've re-opened one of those cuts! Let me help you get back on the—"

"I want to see the Absol..."

"What? I don't think I heard you clearly." Joy said as she knelt beside the teenager, ready to help him up.

"I want to see the— my Absol. You understand don't you?"

Joy sighed before answering. "You trainers are all alike. Okay fine, just wipe up the blood."

With one of Lucius' arms wrapped around her, Joy lifted her patient up with ease and dragged him over to the Absol's bed. It was curled up in the way it had been the previous night, apparently sleeping now. After handing Lucius a fresh handkerchief from her pocket, Joy walked over to the door and raised her hand, signaling she'd be back in a few minutes.

Lucius held the handkerchief against his cut with one hand, and stroked the Absol's neck with the other. It looked so peaceful, as if the other night was just a walk in the park. Lucius couldn't help but smile in this light of perfection.

He began to move his hand to the Absol's ribcage when it opened its mouth and whispered, "<Oh no, don't stop know. It was just getting good.>" She had a distinct femininity in her voice.

Lucius, however, was caught off guard. He quickly pulled his hand back, nearly causing him to fall once again. It was blindingly obvious now that what Nurse Joy said was true, but what did this mean about him? Did he have a strong connection with Pokémon-kind?

"<I guess no pleasures last forever,>" the Absol sighed as she raised one of paws and began rubbing her neck. There was no doubt now, Lucius must've had this connection. Of course, there was always the possibility that he was going crazy.

"He—hey. Are you okay?" Lucius asked, reproaching the Pokémon.

"<Maybe I should be asking you that,>" the Absol said, pointing one of her claws at the handkerchief. It had gone completely red and was now unable to absorb the blood escaping the cut.

"Huh? This is nothing, the nurse will be back shortly anyway." Lucius was extremely impressed on how calm the Absol sounded. It was as if she woke up in hospitals every morning.

Then, with one flawless leap, she jumped off her bed and landed gracefully on the floor. Lucius watched her walk around the room a few times before she finally stopped infront of him.

"<Is there any particular reason you're staring at me like that?>" she said, quite irritated.

"I'm sorry; it's just that... last night, you were hurt so badly. Now I barely see a scar!" Lucius was still amazed he was having a conversation with a Pokémon.

"<Hey, what can I say? That lady is one good doctor,>" she answered with a sort of shrug. Lucius slowly dragged his feet back to his bed, where he sat down and examined the Absol. When he became comfortable, he began.

"What exactly were you doing at the town gate anyway?"

"<I go there every few human months or so. However, that's the first time I saw a human use a weapon like that on me.>" Lucius guessed she was talking about the gun. Truth be told, he didn't even know that anyone in Everon owned a gun. "<Why exactly were you there?>" she asked, drawing closer to him.

"Taking control of my life..." Lucius replied, although he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Nurse Joy re-entered the room. She was holding Lucius' shirt, jacket and scarf in one hand, and in the other, his backpack. There were many stitched up places on his clothes but all he cared about was that he could get dressed.

"It's nice to see you're both okay. You can leave tomorrow, but feel free to get some fresh air!" Nurse Joy said as she placed everything on the bed. She sifted through her pocket before pulling out a rather large bandage. She placed it on the re-opened cut before helping Lucius put his clothes back on.

"Please, allow me to lead you outside," Joy insisted as she walked over to the door and waited for Lucius and the Absol. After the two looked at each other for approval, they followed Nurse Joy out of the room and throughout the center. It turns out they were on the second floor, and that the first was where all the real business took place. There were many rooms with different labels, but they the one that caught Lucius attention the most was the one that read: No Trainers Allowed! He caught a quick glimpse of the sign that plagued the entrance of Everon Town. Upon reaching the room containing the exit, they noticed the T.V. in the corner of the room was surrounded by a group of people.

"Hey Joy, you gotta see this!" shouted a voice from the crowd.

"You don't mind..." Joy couldn't seem to finish her sentence. It took Lucius a while to figure out what she was trying to ask.

"Oh no, it's fine. I might as well see what's going on too!" Lucius said enthusiastically. He believed he heard Absol let out a deep sigh. Ignoring the Pokémon, he rushed over to the T.V.

A middle-aged woman in a wrinkled, red suit was covering most of the screen and she was talking extremely fast. Her blonde hair looked very messy and her makeup was very sloppily put on. This was, unmistakably, a breaking story.

"This is Christie Palmer of Tetrago with confirmation of the mass arresting of both Team Magma and Team Aqua members in the region of Hoenn. According to police, they acquired a few reliable tips on where the two organizations would meet next. By getting there first, the police were able to ambush the teams and come one huge step closer to ending all this gang violence. The leader of Team Magma, Maxie, was able to escape, but the leader of Team Aqua, Archie, is now in police custody. Before he was taken away, he shouted, 'It was all his fault! He betrayed us and he will betray you! He took Groudon!' Police were unsure of whom Archie was talking about, so they dismissed the statement.

So, why are we airing this in Tetrago? Well, it was none other than Team Nightmare, of Nightmare CO., that tipped off the police in the first place. Their leader, Erebus Orpheus, led the entire ambush and is probably as famous as his uncle, Dragon-Master Lance. I can only imagine the amount of publicity Tetrago will get after this operation. Once again, we owe much to the brightest light of this region, Nightmare CO."​

No one spoke during or after the report. Nurse Joy, however, must've felt a reckless reaction come on as she grabbed Lucius and dragged him away from the crowd. As soon as they left the center, they could hear cheers of joy and pride flood throughout the place.

"So, this is Andrea Town? No wonder I haven't heard much about it, it's pretty small," Lucius said as he observed the town. Everon was at least three times bigger than Andrea, and Everon isn't even that big to begin with. The entire area was surrounded by mountains and it was impossible for Lucius to tell which one he came from. The ground looked like a mixture of concrete and desert sand. He was forced to squint his eyes so no sand would enter them. Almost all the houses were built completely of wood, save the blue and white building labeled: Poké-Mart.

"Aren't you going to put your Absol in its Pokéball?"

"Uh... of course I am. I just don't feel like looking through my bag at the time," Lucius said with an unconvincing smile on his face. Joy, however, didn't bother with arguing and returned to the center.

"<What the heck is a Pokéball!? It sounds like some kind of torture machine,>" the Absol asked worriedly.

"Calm down, Absol—"

"<Name's Lilith, for your information,>" she interrupted in an annoyed tone. Lucius understood, as he would be angry if someone kept addressing him as "human".

"Okay— Lilith— I'm Lucius. Anyway, according to the internet, a Pokéball is a device used to keep Pokémon under the watchful eye of their trainer by keeping them in a convenient little ball."

"<Oh my Arceus, it is a torture machine!>" Lilith cried. Lucius laughed and looked down at his new friend.

"<You know it's rude to stare, right?>" Lilith said, turning her face away from Lucius'.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking..." Lucius said as he came to a stop.

"<What's wrong?>" Lilith questioned, actually sounding a little worried.

"Well, I was wondering, where do you plan to go tomorrow?"

"<Me? I just roam around really, no real goal in sight. However, if I go back, I'm sure I'll have to cross paths with some strong Pokémon...>"

"There is another option. You could always come with me," Lucius suggested. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as he was anxious for an answer.

"<And where exactly are you going?>"

"Absolutely everywhere," Lucius said simply. A smile ran across the two faces at precisely the same time.

"<I don't see why not. I can tag along with you for a little while at least.>" That was all Lucius needed it hear. He had finally done it. Technically, he caught his first Pokémon. His journey was finally able to truly begin.

"<You're staring again!>" Lilith barked. Instead of apologizing, Lucius merely laughed.

"Hey, kid with the Absol! You're the one who fell down the mountain, right?" the masculine voice came from a middle-aged man running toward the pair from the Pokémon Center. He wore a plain, blue shirt and jeans that were ripped in many places. The original color of his sneakers was unknown due to the vast amount of material hanging off the footwear. It must be hard to live in Andrea.

"Uh, yeah, that's me..." Lucius answered a little frightened.

"I find it really amazing that you could survive such a tragedy. Usually when someone doesn't wake up for four days, we classify them as 'dead'."

"Four days!?" Lucius was a surprised by how long he had been out of it. It then occurred to him why his legs were so weak earlier.

"Hehe, seems Joy went a little easy on you and didn't tell you how long you were out. Well, that's not why I came here anyway!"

"<Well, why did you come here?>" Lilith said, joining in the conversation.

"Lilith, I don't think he can—"

"I want to challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" the man said standing upright and looking Lucius directly in the eye. The teen dared not accuse him of joking.

"Uh... let me think about it!" Lucius quickly said before pulling Lilith away. He waited until they were out of the man's earshot.

"<You humans are such barbaric creatures! Forcing Pokémon to fight your battles!">

"Hey, we help out too! We tell our Pokémon what to do and what moves to use!" Lucius argued.

"<Uh... Why, exactly?>" Lilith asked, a bit confused. "<I mean, we know our moves better than you do. And wouldn't it be better just to react on instinct?>"

"Look, on my laptop's virtual trainer program, the trainer MUST give commands. Trust me; it strengthens the bond between Pokémon and trainer." Upon saying this, Lucius wondered what happened to his laptop in the accident. He fought the urge to look in his backpack, fearing he'd see it broken into hundreds of pieces.

"<Fine, whatever. I'm just saying, you don't really have any trainer experience...>" Lucius took this as an acceptance to the challenge and went to go confront the older trainer. As he walked back to his Pokémon, he noticed that the sun was beginning to set.

The man excitingly grabbed a red and white ball from his pocket. By pressing the middle button twice, he first expanded the ball, and then released the Pokémon inside. The red beam quickly took the shape of a snake before fading away. Its scales were colored a light purple and it was about six and a half feet in length. Its tail swung madly in the air as it hissed at Lucius and Lilith.

Lilith approached the Ekans with caution, before letting out an intimidating, low growl. Lucius wasn't sure if it was okay to battle right in the middle of town, but now was his chance to test how much he knew. He saw Lilith's growl taking some affect on the Ekans and decided now was his time to strike.

"Okay Lilith, this move never fails me on my laptop. Get ready, and use Hyper Beam!" Lucius screamed, pointing very dramatically at Ekans. Everyone, including Lilith, simply froze.

"<You've gotta be kidding—>" she was unable to finish her sentence due to lack of air. Her amazement at the command just given to her gave Ekans enough time to finally get on the offensive. By now, Ekans had its entire body wrapped tightly around Lilith's.

"<Watch, as I sssslowly ssssuffocate you,>" Ekans hissed as he tightened his grip.

"I don't get it!" Lucius cried. "It always worked on my laptop!" The other trainer couldn't take it anymore and burst into laughter.

"<You.... idiot...>" Lilith managed to murmur as she got one of her paws free. Not even attempting to wait for another "bright idea" of Lucius', Lilith dug her claws deep into the scales of the Ekans. The Pokémon screamed and writhed in pain before finally loosening its grip. Without hesitation, Lilith ran back toward Lucius and took a short breather.

"Why didn't you use the move?" Lucius asked furiously.

"<Do you know how advanced a Hyper Beam is? Stop listening to your laptop thingy and start thinking like a real trainer.>"

"I thought someone as lucky as you would be a good trainer, but it seems I was mistaken." The man was still laughing when he told Ekans to go for another Wrap. The serpent slithered across the desert-like terrain, drawing ever closer to winning the battle with each passing second.

"Think like a trainer, huh? Okay, Lilith, just stay put," Lucius ordered, grinning.

"<Don't fail me again, Lucius,>" Lilith thought to herself as she readied for the attack.

Ekans was just a few feet away from Lilith. He halted infront of her for about half a second before throwing himself into the air and uncurling his body. His yellow underside might have made contact with Lilith's back if Lucius hadn't reacted.

"Quickly, to the left!" he instructed at the perfect moment. With all her gracefulness, Lilith leaped to the left, causing the Ekans to slam hard onto the ground.

"Now, before he gets up, Quick Attack!"

Lilith slanted her figure downward like a cheetah stalking its prey. Then, with an unprecedented burst of energy, she shot her body forward in a reckless charge. As the Ekans lifted his head up, Lilith slanted her head to the side so when she made contact, the blade-like appendage would be able to cut across the snake's face. However, she never got the chance to make contact.

"Ekans, use Screech!"

A high-pitched scream engulfed Lucius' ears, who dropped to his knees from this unbearable sound. When he finally dared to open his eyes, he was lost in a state of shock from seeing Lilith in the same state at him; her two front paws clasped against her ears. Ekans was lingering ominously above his defenseless opponent, now fashioning a menacing grin.

"I'm disappointed, kid. Ekans, finish her off with a Poison Sting," instructed the other trainer, who wasn't even paying much attention to the match at this point.

Ekans slowly lowered his jar and inhaled a great amount of air. Then, along with an exhale, a barrage of purple barbs flew out of his mouth. They pierced Lilith's left-front leg with ease and she trembled with each impact. The blood seeping from the puncture wounds was dyed a sickly green and looked oddly thick. Moments later, the limb showed no signs of life.

The dreadful sight caused Lucius to let out a horrific cry before running to comfort Lilith. The older trainer, however, had seen enough. The Ekans' body had been engulfed by the same red light before he was warped back into the Pokéball. Lucius wrapped his body around Lilith's and pulled out each poisonous barb one by one. He didn't even notice the trainer approach him.

"Pulling them out won't do much good. Return her to her Pokéball and go back to the center," the man insisted before turning away.

"Wait!" Lucius cried, "I don't have any Pokéballs! I'm not even an official Trainer yet. Please, can you just help me?" He no longer cared if these people knew the truth; he would do anything at the moment to insure Lilith's safety.

"Not an official trainer, huh? It's illegal to battle if you have no Pokémon-related occupation. But, I should have expected this when you asked for a Hyper Beam." The man quickly reached into his pockets and handed Lucius a Pokéball. "This one is an extra. Just press the white button and tap the ball against the Absol's body." Lucius followed as instructed and he watched Lilith's figure shrink with a flash of red light.

With that, he picked himself up and darted toward the Pokémon Center he had just left.


**********


"Oh, you're back already!" Nurse Joy shouted from the counter as Lucius burst through the front doors and ran up to her.

"It's Lilith... She's hurt!" Lucius exclaimed while also struggling for air.

"Huh? Who's Lilith?" asked Nurse Joy, quite confused.

"The Absol! She's poisoned and I need help!"

"Oh my— just stay calm. Hand me her Pokéball, I'll take care of it from here." Lucius nearly forced the ball into Joy's chest as he handed it to her. She grabbed the orb and hurried into room labeled: ER – Pokémon and Humans.

With a loud slam of the door, Lucius was left alone in the eerie silence. The people watching the television from earlier had left; Lucius was to face this burden alone. Why did he react like that when he saw the Ekans attack take affect? He had only known Lilith for a little more than two hours, and he already risked his well-being for her. That Ekans had more than enough time to release another round of those Poison Stings, but Lucius wasn't even thinking about that. But why? He was always known to be a reckless one, but this was different... It felt different...

Was it because he had already developed a strong friendship with his companion?

... Or was it because he knew that if Lilith was seriously injured, it'd be a huge step back in his dream of becoming a Pokémon Trainer?

He slowly walked over to a sofa in the corner of the room and sat down to contemplate these questions. He felt the walls around him begin to close in with each passing minute. He was in a run-down village with his home or any other Pokémon no where in sight. In truth, Lilith was his ticket to happiness. Then, Nurse Joy reemerged into the room.

"She'll be fine, all she needs now is a good night's rest," said the nurse in a tone that could soothe the entire Earth. It wasn't over yet... his dream could still prevail. The reassurance flushed over him like a tsunami wave, and he basked in the ambiance of the moment. To him, this was destiny. Fate must've decided years ago that he was meant to become a Pokémon Trainer, and possible, something greater.

"The room you slept in is still empty; you should stay here tonight!" Nurse Joy insisted. Lucius didn't need to hear that twice and graciously accepted the offer. Nurse Joy went to go fetch Lilith's Pokéball before leading Lucius up to his room. She handed him the Pokéball and closed the door behind her. Lucius stared at the device in his hand, afraid that if he opened it, Lilith would have changed her mind about traveling with him.

He lowered the ball to his pocket when it suddenly began shaking and expanded on its own. Lucius was sure what was to happen next and dropped the ball to the floor and scurried a few feet away. Upon making contact with the floor, the ball opened and emitted the red light. Lucius could see Lilith's body begin to take form; first her wolf-like physique, then her pointed tail came into shape; and finally, her crimson eyes came into view.

"<You... How could you!>" she yelled, tackling Lucius to the ground.

"I— I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to get poisoned!" Lucius apologized, pushing his hands against Lilith's under-belly. Alas, he was unable to throw her off.

"<Poisoned!? I'm mad because you put me in one of those contraptions!>" Lilith raised one of her paws at the ball lying on the floor. Lucius stopped struggling at this point, even though it would've been rather easy for him to push her off with one of her paws already up.

"That— that's it!? If it wasn't for that contraption, you probably wouldn't be here right now!" Lilith ignored the reasonable come-back but got off Lucius anyway, who quickly got to his feet.

The Absol slowly walked over to Lucius' bed and hopped on it, paying absolutely no attention to the teen. After calming down, Lucius picked up the Pokéball and carefully approached the Pokémon. He lifted his free hand and slowly began stroking Lilith's neck.

"I thought you were going to change your mind after that failure of a battle earlier."

"<Hey, you seem to be forgetting that I agreed to come with you before I even knew you wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer. And besides, that last minute dodge was a brilliant move.>" Lilith's words comforted Lucius' mindset a great deal. If every trainer supposedly found their perfect match when they chose their starter, then Lucius certainly found his.

"Now that that's all said and done, mind getting off my bed?"

"<Hmm... nah, I like it. I think I'll sleep here tonight,>" Lilith replied with a smirk.

"Or you could sleep in here," Lucius shot back, holding up the ball in his and hand and fashioning a smirk of his own.

"<Okay, okay, you win...>" Lilith succumbed to the idea of being placed back inside her Pokéball. As she hurried over to her bed, Lucius began to get comfortable in his own. He didn't bother undressing as he stared at the ceiling, imagining what the next day would hold. Even though his battle was short-lived, he couldn't deny the fact that it was fun. All thoughts pertaining Everon were pushed to the back of his mind and ideas of his journey zoomed throughout his head. It didn't take long for him to fall into a much-needed sleep.


***** The Next Morning *****


Lucius slowly opened his eyes, only to see pair of azure eyes staring back at him.

"Uh, Nurse Joy... were you watching me sleep?" he questioned a bit frightened.

"Oh no, I'm sorry! Since your leaving today, I took the liberty of adding a medical kit and sleeping bag to your backpack," she replied with a light blush.

"Umm... thanks." Lucius glanced at Lilith's bed and to his surprise, it was empty. "Do you happen to know where Lilith is?" Lucian asked, sliding off the bed.

"Ah, yes, I saw her early this morning. She's probably getting some fresh air outside."

"Okay... and, Joy, thanks for everything!" Lucius said, smiling like a five-year-old.

"No need for thanks, um...?" It then occurred to Lucius that he never gave her his name.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot! My name is Lucius Rowley!"

"Okay— Lucius— feel free to drop by anytime. Directly north of this center is collection of mountains that are relatively small compared to the others. Just follow the path between the two smallest mountains and you will happen upon Sage City, where I hear a Pokémon Gym resides."

"A Pokémon... Gym?" Lucius said, his head tilted to the side. It was amazing Joy didn't find out he wasn't a real trainer yet.

"Yeah, if you can defeat the Gym Leader, you get a special badge. Badges are a great way to show how strong you're becoming as a Pokémon Trainer. If you're able to collect all eight badges of this region, you qualify to participate in a special tournament held every year in Tetrago." It was obvious that Lucius needed some time to take all this in, as his face expression didn't change for a few seconds. When he finally comprehended everything he nodded to Nurse Joy, got his things, waved good-bye, and exited the center.

"<You're such a heavy sleeper!>" Lilith accused as she saw her trainer leave the center. "<I must've called your name like, a whole five times.>"

"Hey, at least I'm here now, right? Our next destination will be Sage City, which is north of here," Lucius stated, turning to the south at the same time. He became aware of what Nurse Joy spoke of when he saw two mountains that were fairly smaller than the one's surrounding it.

"<Well, let's go then!>" Lilith encouraged as she ran off into the distance. Lucius could only smile in delight as he watched the Pokémon that set his journey off and, unbeknownst to him, the Pokémon that would become the most important factor of his life...

 

[FireTrainer92]

No offenece it sounds like Legidarian Chornicles(If you read it)In a Very good
way

 

[Gummy]

I take that as an extremely good comment. Reading Chibi Pika's fic is what got me into writing in the first place.

 

[FireTrainer92]

yeah it got me motivated to write Renegade Ranger

 

[Grovyle42(Griff8416)]

Awesome chapter, Glajummy. I'll have to do a short review again, since my dislocated knee hurts.

Plot: Lucius has his first pokemon and is starting his pokemon journey. I'm excited to see what happens next. One thing that bothered me was that Lucius still wanted to move a lot after he was collapsed and bleeding on the floor. Although this REALLY shouldn't bother me since my character has done the same thing time and time again. Now I'm fine with it, ignore my impulse hypocrisy. :p

Characters: Development ahoy! You handled this aspect pretty well. You showed the two bond and you showed the jist of Lilith's...I want to say 'principles'.

Description: The description was so good that it actually made me feel guilty about not doing a better job with mine (On a personal note, I'm rewriting a large portion of the rushed part of my story as a result of reading this chapter.) The description needs no improvement to my knowledge.

Grammar and writing: I noticed a few errors in this section. Be sure to carefully proof read.

Keep up the good work!

-Griff4815